Of Arms and the Lawhttps://armsandthelaw.com/
Copyright 2018Mon, 06 Aug 2018 20:03:22 -0700http://www.movabletype.org/?v=6.3.7http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rssA big reason why my invites to join ACLU always go into the trashAn interesting social media post. And here's their position on Heller.]]>https://armsandthelaw.com/archives/2018/08/a_big_reason_wh.php
https://armsandthelaw.com/archives/2018/08/a_big_reason_wh.phpMon, 06 Aug 2018 20:03:22 -0700NFA form processing timesATF reports that paper Form 4s have a processing time of seven months. They may have e-forms available this year, although they note this is complicated by the requirement of fingerprints and a current photograph.]]>https://armsandthelaw.com/archives/2018/08/nfa_form_proces.php
https://armsandthelaw.com/archives/2018/08/nfa_form_proces.phpMon, 06 Aug 2018 14:25:51 -0700New Stephen King horror novelIn which the conservatives get a Supreme Court majority. "Millions will die." (From the Babylon Bee, a satirical site).]]>https://armsandthelaw.com/archives/2018/08/new_stephen_kin.php
https://armsandthelaw.com/archives/2018/08/new_stephen_kin.phpSat, 04 Aug 2018 22:29:16 -0700NRA hits back at CuomoIt's filed a lawsuit (the complaint starts getting lively on p. 15) asserting that Cuomo and his people threatened NRA's insurance carrier into cutting off its insurance, sent letters to all New York insurers and banking institutions urging them to cut NRA off, violated its first amendment rights, deprived it of equal protection of the laws, and engaged in tortious interference with business relationships. (I blogged about that issue some months ago).]]>https://armsandthelaw.com/archives/2018/08/nra_hits_back_a.php
https://armsandthelaw.com/archives/2018/08/nra_hits_back_a.phpWed, 01 Aug 2018 17:20:36 -0700Heaven pity anyone who gets legal news from CNNThis article on "stand your ground" laws has so many legal and factual errors that I can't stop to point them all out. But here's a whopper: "Generally, "stand your ground" laws allow people to respond to threats or force without fear of criminal prosecution."

And "Previously, the shooter used "stand your ground" as a defense, and had to prove she or he feared further bodily harm. But no longer."

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https://armsandthelaw.com/archives/2018/07/heaven_pity_any.phpSun, 29 Jul 2018 16:38:32 -0700Mance v. Sessions, en banc rulingRight here. The en banc court split dramatically, voting 8-7 to reverse the district court's issuance of an injunction. The issue involved DC residents who wanted to purchase a handgun from an FFL in Texas; the GCA forbids an FFL (anyone else) selling a handgun to any non-FFL who resides in a different state.

The problem was that there is only one FFL in the District of Columbia, and he charges a $125 fee to process a firearm.

The Fifth Circuit again assumed, without specifically deciding, that strict scrutiny applied. (p.7).

Great treatment of the antis favorite claims--carrying isn't at the core of the 2A, the Statute of Northampton, their misconstruing of history, etc.

This, like any honest read of the 2A in the 9th Circuit, will be followed by a motion for rehearing en bans, a grant of that motion, and a new opinion disavowing the one here.

A salute to the victors, Alan Beck and Stephen D. Stamboulieh!!!!

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https://armsandthelaw.com/archives/2018/07/incredible_ruli.phpTue, 24 Jul 2018 11:36:44 -0700The Civil War veteran who served in WWIPeter Hains, in 1861 a newly-minted artillery lieutenant who fired the first cannon at First Bull Run, in 1898 a brigadier general, retired in 1904, recalled to service in 1916 at age 76 as the oldest officer on active duty.

He lies in Arlington with his sons, Col. John Hains, who at his death was the oldest living West Point graduate, and Captain Peter Hains, and his grandson, Maj. Gen. Peter Hains III, who commanded in North Africa.

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https://armsandthelaw.com/archives/2018/07/the_civil_war_v.phpMon, 23 Jul 2018 22:29:05 -0700Good grief....This commentator may be a defense specialist, have four post-grad degrees, and be a consultant " at the highest levels of defense and national security," but she still doesn't have a clue about her topic.]]>https://armsandthelaw.com/archives/2018/07/good_grief_1.php
https://armsandthelaw.com/archives/2018/07/good_grief_1.phpSat, 21 Jul 2018 14:31:27 -0700Ha!Borat goes to gun store, gets spotted and called out. He's fooled politicians and big-shots, but an FFL spots him the minute he walks in!]]>https://armsandthelaw.com/archives/2018/07/ha.php
https://armsandthelaw.com/archives/2018/07/ha.phpWed, 18 Jul 2018 09:24:59 -0700Defense Distributed case settles!Justice Department has settled with SAF and Defense Distributed--essentially, it's surrendered. The case concerned, as I recall, whether 3-D printer programs for making receivers were subject to the strict export controls applied to military arms, and whether that violated the First Amendment.

From the press release:

"Significantly, the government expressly acknowledges that non-automatic firearms up to .50-caliber - including modern semi-auto sporting rifles such as the popular AR-15 and similar firearms - are not inherently military."

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https://armsandthelaw.com/archives/2018/07/defense_distrib.phpTue, 10 Jul 2018 14:13:27 -0700Judge Kavanaugh on the Second AmendmentRight here. He's good on it, very good. And the other side knows it. He hasn't been nominated for an hour but already....

STATEMENT: Giffords Responds to the Nomination of Judge Kavanaugh to the U.S. Supreme Court
Washington, DC -- Giffords, ... released the following statements after the announcement of President Trump's nomination of Judge Brett Kavanaugh...

Former Representative Gabrielle Giffords:
"In nominating Judge Kavanaugh to be the next Supreme Court justice, the Trump Administration is once again showing brazen disregard for the people it claims to protect. Judge Kavanaugh's dangerous views on the Second Amendment are far outside the mainstream of even conservative thought and stand in direct opposition to the values and priorities of the vast majority of Americans. America needs a Supreme Court justice who respects the Second Amendment but who also realizes reasonable regulations that reduce gun violence do not infringe on anyone's constitutional rights. But that's not the kind of justice President Trump nominated today.
.... Should the Senate confirm the nomination of Judge Kavanaugh, we have every indication to believe that he will prioritize an agenda backed by the gun lobby, putting corporate interests before public safety. Make no mistake, the progress we've achieved passing firearm laws that save lives every day will be in serious danger."

followup from Giffords:

In a follow-on case to Heller known as Heller II, Judge Kavanaugh wrote a dissenting opinion arguing that Washington DC's assault weapons ban and registration laws violate the Second Amendment. While two other judges cast deciding votes upholding both laws, Judge Kavanaugh instead sided with the gun lobby's position that every type of firearm that is marketed and sold to enough Americans enjoys absolute constitutional protections, concluding that because assault weapons are in "common use" today and were not historically regulated, they cannot be prohibited under the Second Amendment. Similarly, Judge Kavanaugh determined that because most states do not require registration of firearms, it is unconstitutional to have a mandatory registration law--meaning that under his circular logic, any gun regulation that is not already widespread is constitutionally suspect.

In the same dissent in Heller II, Judge Kavanaugh interpreted the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Heller to require judges to disregard compelling public safety justifications for gun regulations and consider only the text of the Second Amendment and the history and tradition of regulating in a certain area when deciding if a challenged law is constitutional. Under Judge Kavanaugh's interpretation of the Second Amendment, there is an "absence of a role for judicial interest balancing or assessment of costs and benefits of gun regulations." This radical view would allow judges to pick and choose which gun regulations have adequate historical support and invalidate all other laws. For example, Judge Kavanaugh might vote to strike down important gun safety laws that address modern dangers that did not exist at the time of the founding of the United States, like extreme-risk protection order laws that remove guns from the possession of likely mass shooters, and domestic violence restraining order laws that protect victims of domestic abuse (a crime that wasn't even recognized in early American history).

Finally, while Judge Kavanaugh has not issued a major ruling on the issue of public carry of firearms outside the home, he did cast a dissenting procedural vote in Grace v. District of Columbia stating he would leave in place a lower-court ruling striking down DC's concealed carry licensing law pending appellate review. This suggests that Judge Kavanaugh was sympathetic to the view that the District of Columbia's "good reason" requirement for concealed carry permit applicants is unconstitutional, a position that places him well outside the mainstream. Judges have overwhelmingly upheld similar concealed carry requirements, including those in place in California, Maryland, New York, and New Jersey--and in each case, the U.S. Supreme Court denied review, leaving favorable lower-court decisions upholding strong concealed carry permitting laws in place.

EVERYTOWN FOR GUN SAFETY STATEMENT ON PRESIDENT TRUMP'S NOMINATION OF JUDGE BRETT KAVANAUGH TO THE SUPREME COURT

WASHINGTON - Everytown for Gun Safety, the country's largest gun violence prevention organization, released the following statement today....

STATEMENT FROM JOHN FEINBLATT, PRESIDENT OF EVERYTOWN FOR GUN SAFETY:

"President Trump vowed he'd never let the NRA down, and with the Kavanaugh pick, he chose someone whose judicial record demonstrates a dangerous view of the Second Amendment that elevates gun rights above public safety. We oppose this nomination and urge the Senate to vote it down." ...

• Judge Kavanaugh has applied an extreme and dangerous interpretation of the Second Amendment when determining whether a law is constitutional, one that does not take into account a law's impact on public safety.

• Judge Kavanaugh has made clear he would strike down prohibitions on the AR-15 and other assault-style weapons. In 2011, he dissented from a decision upholding Washington, D.C.'s prohibition on assault-style weapons and its requirement to register handguns. The dissent put Judge Kavanaugh at odds not only with the two other Republican-appointed judges on the court hearing the case, but also every other federal and state appeals court to address the issue.

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https://armsandthelaw.com/archives/2018/07/judge_kavanaugh.phpMon, 09 Jul 2018 19:11:35 -0700"I should have just emptied the whole clip but I didn't."Texas is bad place to carjack a mother's car with her children inside.

Interesting that we're reading this story on the BBC, the British Broadcasting Company. But then again, most of the pro-gun American stories come from the British media. In my shortwave listening days, I always listened to election night news on the BBC. Their coverage was straightforward and intelligent.